Baka's Birthday Party
#56 Red String of Destiny, 625 words

Mamoru politely made his way through the arcade. This surprise party really was too much for him, much more than he deserved. They had already cut the cake, deliciously baked by Makoto, and before he could take his first bite, Usagi had the pleasure of shoving his plate into his face. "Odango!" he bellowed, only to be drowned out by her laughter. He went to the bathroom to clean his face and wipe off crumbs on his favorite shirt, and now he was making his way back to the party, his party, planning his revenge with every step. However, Hino Rei got to him first.

"Hi Mamoru-san!" she greeted cheerfully. Rei held up a small, golden box. "I just wanted to give you this present personally. I was doing my morning fire reading, and it told me that this is the perfect gift for you."

"Arigatou," replied Mamoru, taking the box from the shrine maiden. He pulled the top off and lifted a beautiful charm, obviously from her temple. It was the symbol "destiny", gold-plated and attached to an elaborate string art design made from the brightest of red string, meant to give him good luck.

"It's beautiful," he murmured, admiring the intricate workmanship. It reminded him of a beautiful rose. "Arigatou gozaimasu."

Rei smiled warmly when Usagi popped up behind her. "Hey Baka! Don't you clean up nicely?" she chided happily. Her confidence shone through, especially with her friend as a shield from any possible retaliation. Then, Usagi's cerulean eyes lowered to the charm in Mamoru's hand. "Wow!"

She reached out and ran her fingers along the elaborate design. "Don't touch it or you'll ruin it, Odango!" said Mamoru, pulling his design away. However, Usagi's fingers were already caught in the design and the red string began to unravel. "Look at what you did!"

"I wouldn't have gotten caught in the strings if you would have let me look at it, Baka!" she retorted. Usagi tried to pull away, but the string unraveled even more over her hand.

"Stop moving, I'm trying to fix it!"

"You're too impatient to fix it, Mamoru-baka. Let me see it."

"No!"

"Now look at what you've done!"

"What 'I've done!'" exclaimed Mamoru. By this time, both pairs of hands were entwined in the never-ending red string. "You're the one who ruined my birthday present, Odango!"

And the bickering continued.

Rei snickered to herself as she walked away from the scene. Minako ran over, and with one glance at the two arguing, she wagged her finger at the shrine maiden. "I know what you've done, you superstitious girl!" Minako whispered. "As the goddess of love, the protector of Venus, hooking those two up is MY job!"

Minako was only met with a full fledged laugh. "Save it, Aphrodite, I'm just helping you out so you don't have to do as much work," replied Rei. Minako opened her mouth to protest again, but was stopped. "As the goddess of war, the protector of Mars, and rah rah rah, there's nothing like a little fiery flirtation to get the attraction going. That string is supposed to unravel between two people with a lot of destiny ordained for them."

Minako's lips frowned as she eyed the couple of conversation, but Rei threw her arm around her friend. "Oh come on, Mina-chan! You can't tell me that they don't look cute?"

Mamoru bent down to nibble at a few tight strings encompassing Usagi's fingers. She let out sporadic giggles; Mamoru's lips were soft and tickling her skin with each soft touch. Minako could only groan in response to the scene.

"I just thought this whole time the present you gave Mamoru was pretty cheap," she mumbled before stuffing her mouth with more cake.